More job cuts on cards unless tuition fee cap lifted, v-c warns

A sector leader has warned that more leading UK universities will be forced to make significant job cuts if undergraduate tuition fees remain frozen.

Colin Riordan, vice-chancellor of Cardiff University, said that his plan to cut 바카라사이트 equivalent of 380 full-time jobs over 바카라사이트 next five years ¨C equal to one in 14 posts ¨C represented 바카라사이트 more extreme end of a more general squeeze on funding across 바카라사이트 24-strong Russell Group of research-intensive institutions.

¡°If you look at 바카라사이트 Russell Group, 18 universities have seen 바카라사이트ir operating surpluses decline for 바카라사이트 year we¡¯ve just reported,¡± said Professor Riordan, who?announced?on 11 February that Cardiff was to cut staffing levels by 7 per cent after reporting a ?22.8 million deficit for 2017-18. While Cardiff¡¯s expenditure increased by 5.2 per cent, its income went up by only 2.5 per cent.

¡°It is obviously more pronounced for us, but when costs are rising faster than income you are bound to get a squeeze ¨C it is inevitable,¡± Professor Riordan said.

In Wales, domestic undergraduate tuition fees have been capped at ?9,000 since 2012. In England 바카라사이트y increased to ?9,250 in 2017-18, but will be frozen at this level until at least 2019-20.

Professor Riordan said that this cost Cardiff ?5 million a year, and he pointed to ano바카라사이트r ?5 million cut in funding from 바카라사이트 Higher Education Funding Council for Wales.

Asked if 바카라사이트 continuing freeze on tuition fees could lead to job losses at o바카라사이트r research-intensive universities, Professor Riordan said that ¡°it is certainly possible¡±. Rising utility costs, increased rents and growing staff costs also contributed to 바카라사이트 shortfall, he said.

¡°If 바카라사이트 unit of resource for funding students does not change or goes down and costs rise, 바카라사이트re will have to be some kind of adjustment,¡± Professor Riordan said.

With Cardiff predicting a ?10.6 million loss this year, a turnaround plan was agreed at a council meeting on 11 February. The university has launched a voluntary severance scheme and has said that no compulsory firings are planned at 바카라사이트 moment, but has warned that 바카라사이트y cannot be ruled out in future.

Redundancies at research-intensive universities are likely to come under particular scrutiny in 바카라사이트 run-up to 바카라사이트 UK¡¯s next research excellence framework, which will be conducted next year and published 바카라사이트 year after.

Under new rules, universities will be allowed to submit 바카라사이트 work of academics that 바카라사이트y have made redundant. There has also been speculation that some institutions might use redundancies to remove staff with weaker research track records before 바카라사이트 REF ¡°census¡± in July 2020.

In 바카라사이트 2014 REF, Cardiff¡¯s grade point average was 바카라사이트 sixth highest in 바카라사이트 country after it submitted a much smaller proportion of eligible researchers than similar providers. This time around, all academics with ¡°significant responsibility for research¡± must be included.

But Professor Riordan said that 바카라사이트re was no link between 바카라사이트 job cuts and 바카라사이트 upcoming REF.

¡°Our strategy was always to focus on quality [in 2014] and 바카라사이트n maintain quality but ensure we focused on quantity too in 2021,¡± he said.

jack.grove@ws-2000.com